Hunger Stuck
by Kekara
Summary: It's time for the 78th Annual Hunger Games. In this story, the rebellion from the books failed and District 12 is gone. Every chapter is a new point of view. AH
1. Chapter 1

The rain is leaking the roof and I do not give a fuck. I've given up trying to fix up this place. I'm especially not going to bother on my one day off.

My name is Karkat Vantas and I hate pretty much everything.

The only exception is Terezi. She's amazing. The best friend I've ever had. If she had to go into the games... god, I don't even want to think about it. Unfortunately it's been on my mind all day. The reaping is tomorrow for the 78th Annual Hunger Games. I feel sick. I suppose, with no family, it would only make sense if I were chosen to go in. That doesn't mean I'm going to volunteer. Nobody volunteers. Not since the rebellion, when Katniss volunteered for her sister and caused a chain of events that destroyed District 12. Ever since the Capitol has been stricter than ever.

I head outside. My house is nothing more than a shack, but I had to build it myself. My parents are dead. They died when I was 6. I've had to take care of myself ever since, and I've done a pretty good job in my opinion. I walk down the gravel road which has pretty much become mud due to the weather, with rain soaking my hair. I like the rain. It gives us time off from work. It doesn't come very often in District 7. I can see Terezi playing with her little sister outside her house.

Karkat: Terezi!

Terezi: Oh Karkat! Hi!

She's wearing her red shades again. I'm not surprised. She always wears those. Her sister is running around in the mud with her cane, splashing it in the water. I walk up to them.

Karkat: Big day tomorrow.

Terezi: Are you nervous?

Karkat: Who isn't? I'd like to meet the asshole who isn't scared right now.

Terezi: Karkat, don't swear around my sister.

Karkat: Sorry. God, I'm glad she isn't old enough for the reaping.

Terezi: You and me both. I've been making preparations... you know, just in case I-

Karkat: Don't say it. Just don't. You are not going to be picked.

Terezi: You don't know that.

Karkat: I do know that. If you do get picked I am going to single-handedly kill every last peacekeeper in this district with my bear hands.

Terezi: You wouldn't be able to even lay your hands on one without getting shot. At least if I do get picked my parents can take care of her, and maybe she won't get picked when her time comes.

Karkat: You. Will. Not. Get. Picked. I swear it.

Terezi: Thanks for the reassurance. You gonna dress up?

We both laugh. I've never bothered to dress up for a reaping before, but that's partially due to the fact that I don't own any nice clothes.

Karkat: Maybe we could just... not go.

Terezi: If they found out they would kill us.

Karkat: Who says they would find out?

Terezi: If they pick one of our names, and we aren't there...

Karkat: It was a bad idea. Forget I mentioned it.

Her sister pokes my leg with Terezi's cane. I smile.

Karkat: Come here, you little twerp!

She screams and laughs and runs around, with me chasing her. I slip and fall in the mud causing her to laugh harder. Terezi helps me up and we play around with her sister for a good hour or so. The bell chimes signaling curfew.

Karkat: I should probably go home.

Terezi: You don't want to stay here tonight? It's supposed to keep raining.

Karkat: I can manage at home. Besides, I won't be able to sleep. I don't want to keep any of you up.

Terezi: Okay, well... see you tomorrow!

Karkat: See ya.

I make my way back to my house. After a cold dinner of apples and soaking wet dead bird, I sit on my cot and stare at the ceiling. If I sleep, I'll probably have nightmares, but I need some rest. After thinking about Terezi for a while, I drift off.

Luckily, I had no dreams. Unluckily, I woke up to my bed being flipped over.

Terezi: We're going to be late! How are you not up yet?

Karkat: What the fuck, Terezi?!

Terezi: We have 10 minutes to get down there! Get up get up get up!

Karkat: Why are you so excited?

Terezi: I just want to get this over with. Don't get the wrong idea.

I drag myself out from under my upturned cot and check out what I'm wearing. Just a ratty t-shirt and a pair of boxers.

Karkat: I'm ready to go.

Terezi: Karkat, put some pants on.

Karkat: _Fine_.

I pull out a pair of black sweatpants and a (sort of) fresh gray t-shirt. After pulling them down and using my hands to comb my hair, Terezi and I leave. She has her cane with her, but we still linked arms so I could lead her there. She shouldn't even be allowed to be in the reaping, not with her being blind and all. It's not fair.

We get there and move to our sections. We say a (hopefully) temporary goodbye, and she kisses me on the cheek. I'm so glad she's blind, because I am turning completely red. I move over to my age section still staring at her. I hardly hear the reaping start, and when I finally pay attention I realize they had already chosen the male tribute. I was relieved. It was just some kid I had never seen before, and he was already breaking down on stage. My heart rate starts to speed up as they choose the female tribute. When I hear her name everything stops. My legs lose all their feeling. I'm ready to faint. I look over at her and she's standing there in shock. The crowd parts, and she starts to use her cane to make her way to the stage.

Don't do it, I tell myself. Stop. Don't do it.

It's too late. I'm already doing it. I yell and shove everyone out of the way, running toward the stage trying to get to her. The peacekeepers grab me and try to take me away but I'm punching and kicking and biting just trying to get to the stage. Everyone else is silent and staring at me in awe.

Karkat: I VOLUNTEER! FUCK, I VOLUNTEER! PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO UP THERE YOU IDIOTS!

The peacekeepers move out of the way and I stumble onto the stage and up next to Terezi.

Terezi: Karkat, stop! What are you doing?!

Karkat: I can't let you go in there alone! I'm coming with you!

Terezi: Please don't do this!

Karkat: Too late.

The boy who was chosen originally runs off the stage in tears. I take his place, standing as tall as I can and trying to ignore what a stupid move I just made. I can tell Terezi is looking at me. I know she's crying. I try to stay strong. The announcer asks the crowd for a round of applause for us, but it's dead silent. There's a mixture of awe and respect in the crowd. The peacekeepers escort us off stage.

I'm sitting in a room alone. Technically, friends and family are supposed to be visiting us right now, but since my family is dead and Terezi is my only friend I'm alone. I stare out the window. It's cloudy out but the rain stopped sometime last night. I know I'll never see this district again. I'm going to die in that arena. I will get Terezi to win. I know it. She doesn't deserve to be in these games.

After a little while the peacekeepers come in and escort me to the train platform. I meet up with Terezi, who's stopped crying but is clearly emotionally unstable. I put my arm around her shoulder. Her family gives her one last goodbye, and her sister gives me a hug. I manage a smile and hug her back, and we board the train.

We're escorted to a dining room. It's empty. We're told our instructors would be there momentarily, and suddenly we're alone.

Terezi: You're such an idiot.

Karkat: I've been telling myself that for years.

Terezi: Why would you do that? Why would you do something so stupid?

Karkat: That... is a very good question. I think the main reason is I don't want to sit at your house watching you die.

I've always had to watch the games at Terezi's house. I don't have a TV. Or, didn't have, I guess. We sit there silently for a while. I just try to comfort her.

Terezi: We're going to die.

Karkat: That is not true.

Terezi: Only one person can survive.

Karkat: And it's going to be you.

Terezi: I don't deserve to.

Karkat: Shut the fuck up. You are so going to win.

Terezi: I can't even see.

Karkat: I'm your eyes. I promise.

She smiles and laughs a little, albeit nervously. I put my hand on her shoulder. I'm ready for anything that comes our way.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm sitting in a train car watching the reapings with my mentors. I've always found the reapings more interesting than the games themselves. The games just make me sick, with all of the death and blood and what not. I hope I don't have to kill anyone in the ring. I don't think I could handle it.

My name is Aradia Megido and I'm pretty indifferent about the games. It's just the death that I mind.

I'm from District 5, which specializes in power. I don't really know how to fight. I'm hoping I won't have to, but I know that's just a crazy dream. My partner is a boy named Sollux, who doesn't really talk much. In fact, he and I haven't talked at all. He's just been sitting on the windowsill staring outside.

Aradia: Sollux, come on! We need to check out the competition!

He just sighs.

Aradia: Don't you want to know who we're up against?

Sollux: No.

Aradia: He speaks!

Sollux: Shut up.

Aradia: Alright, just mope around then.

I turn back to the TV and watch the reapings. From District 1 there's this nasty looking boy in green suspenders and a black shirt, who's laughing maniacally to himself the whole time. His name is Caliborn. His partner is a young gentle-looking girl who looks a lot like him. I figure they're twins. She looks nervous. Her name is Calliope.

District 2's male tribute scares me a little. His black hair is all over the place and he's wearing some creepy white and gray makeup. He's smiling the whole time, even waving at the camera. His name is Gamzee and he doesn't seem to fully understand what's going on. He spaces out as the female is called. The female is tall, probably 18, and is wearing a beautiful red dress. She has a sort of pixie cut and does not look amused. I get the feeling she hates her partner. Her name is Kanaya.

From District 3 comes some fierce competition, which I did not see coming at all. I actually knew the boy, we had talked over the phone before. He was very muscular. He was missing a couple teeth and was wearing cracked sunglasses. He was definitely the strongest competitor this year. His name was Equius. The female, Vriska, was quite the case. Her left arm was missing, and was replaced with a robot arm instead. She had an eye-patch over her left eye as well. I can't imagine what kind of accident could cause that in an electrical district.

Here we go, I think to myself. District 4's male tribute is classic career material. His name is Eridan. He's got large hipster glasses and a purple streak in his hair. He seems like he's actually looking forward to these games. His partner's name is Feferi. I can't help but think she's the daughter of someone important. She looks a bit distraught but holds it together for the camera.

Then comes my District. Sollux comes up to the stage with no emotion, just like I remember. He's still like that. Then I'm called up, and as I go up I got hugged by my little brother. I tried not to cry then and I'm trying not to cry now. The poor kid shouldn't have to watch the games, but I know he's going to anyway.

District 6 is fairly uneventful. A couple kids who are probably related were called. One was a boy around 14 years old named John, who probably didn't realize the full severity of what was going on. He just looked confused. The girl's name was Jane, and tears were streaming down her face before she even took her place on the stage. I felt sorry for her. Maybe I could comfort her sometime.

District 7 started fairly normal, but the girl was a bug surprise to me.

Aradia: Is... is she blind?!

My mentors nod grimly.

Aradia: Oh my god...

Clearly I wasn't the only one in shock. A boy had some sort of mental breakdown when she got on stage, causing a huge scene. He really showed a couple peacekeepers who's boss. They looked ready to kill him on the spot, but then he volunteered. The train car fell silent. Sollux even looked up. Nobody volunteered. It was like an unspoken rule since the second rebellion. I looked at my mentors in shock, but they were just as surprised as I was. The girl, Terezi, looked extremely surprised, and started to cry a little. The boy, Karkat, comforted her and took his place on the stage.

The remainder of the Districts seemed lame compared to that. District 8 had a boy with blond hair, black round shades and a stylish red suit on named Dave and a young woman in a black dress with a pink belt named Rose. Neither of them showed many emotions. They seemed like they knew each other, though.

District 9 had an even cooler male tribute than the last one. He wore spiked black shades and had an orange baseball cap, with his blond hair sticking out messily beneath it. His name was Dirk. The female stumbled on stage and fell over, and Dirk helped her up. She was very pretty, but clearly drunk. She smiled and waved at the cameras but couldn't stand up straight.

District 10 made me more depressed than District 7. The male tribute, Tavros, was paralyzed below the waist. It made me want to cry. I vowed to myself to help him if I ever got the chance. The girl seemed just as upset as I was and whispered something in his ear that made him smile a little before she took her place. Her name was Nepeta. She had a floor length green jacket with a fake blue cat tail sewn on it. She kept smiling encouragingly at Tavros.

District 11 was also pretty uneventful. The male tribute went over and hugged a girl on the other side before he went up on stage, but then she was called up too. They were cousins, Jake and Jade. Both were pretty upset but held it together on camera.

The TV flashed the symbol for Panem and turned off. I didn't know what to think, other than I got chosen on a very weird year. I couldn't get the district 10 boy off of my mind. Maybe I could get a favor from somebody...

I left the car before my mentors could say anything and went to my own car. I got out my phone and dialed the number. It rang for a few minutes and I thought he wouldn't pick up.

_Equius: Hello?_

Aradia: You know why I'm calling.

_Equius: ... yes, yes I do._

Aradia: Please?

_Equius: I doubt I'm allowed to._

Aradia: Pleeaase?

_Equius: Aradia..._

Aradia: Pleeeeaaaase?

_Equius: Why would I help my competition?_

Aradia: Because you love a fair fight, and you KNOW this isn't fair.

_Equius: I know..._

Aradia: Please?

_Equius: I'll do it. But if I get in trouble, I'm shifting the blame to you._

Aradia: And I'm okay with that! Thank you!

_Equius: Good luck._

He hangs up, and I'm very happy with myself. I turn to find Sollux in the doorway.

Sollux: Why? Why would you do that?

Aradia: Because I actually care about people.

Sollux: I never said I didn't care.

Aradia: You never said anything.

Sollux: Exactly.

Aradia: You know that isn't fair. If I could do something for the blind girl, I would help her too, but there's nothing I can do about that.

Sollux: You shouldn't help out the competition. It's only making it more likely for us to be killed.

Aradia: I don't care.

Sollux: Of course you don't.

Aradia: Just shut up, I'm hungry.

I push him out of the way and head to the dining car. He follows. We sit in silence and eat for a little while.

Sollux: I'm sorry.

Aradia: Me too.

Sollux: Cool.

There's a longer awkward silence.

Aradia: Good talk.

Sollux: Right.

I get up and head back to my room, making sure to lock my door behind me. We should arrive in the capitol tomorrow. As excited as I am to meet all these people, I'm afraid to get attached to them, considering most of them will die. It's all very depressing. I really don't want to think about it. I drift to sleep.

_In my dream I'm in the arena. The field is just a giant mountain with the cornucopia on top. It's been picked through for all the valuables and everyone who survived the main slaughter is gone. I hid in a hole sheltered by a rock until I was positive it was safe to come out. I walk out, but not voluntarily. I'm being forced to move, forced to look. There are dead bodies all over the place. Something isn't right. I see that some of the tributes have different blood colors, and the snow on the peak looks like a rainbow. A sick, twisted rainbow. _

_I keep moving forward even though I want to run and hide, maybe even puke. I see Kanaya with a hole in her stomach, covered in jade green blood. Feferi is there with a similar wound, but with bright purple blood instead. Vriska looks like she had been stabbed through the chest with a sword, and she was face down with blue blood staining her jacket. Rose was there but she wasn't bleeding, just dead. I wanted to puke so bad. _

_Then I saw Sollux, yellow blood streaming out of his mouth and eyes staining his shirt. He was still alive. He reached a hand out to me mouthing the word help before I woke up screaming. _

I run to the bathroom and puke in the toilet. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much yesterday, but it was all so good. I fill my hands with water and splash it on my face, then grab a towel and shove my head into it. That dream was awful. I lean against the wall and slide down to the floor. I never want to sleep again. Someone knocks on the door.

Sollux: Are you okay?

Aradia: Fine, thank you. I just... had a bad dream.

Sollux: Want to talk?

Aradia: ... yeah, one moment.

I get up and open the door. He looks at me a little weird. I take a quick glance over to the mirror and realize I look like a mess. My hair is all over the place, I have bags under my eyes, and the silky red pajamas they provided for me were twisted and creased.

Aradia: Sorry, I look awful.

Sollux: That's okay.

We head out to the car with the TV and sit on a couch. I describe my dream to him, leaving out the part about him, and he actually sits and listens to the whole thing with interest.

Aradia: And then I woke up and puked in the toilet.

Sollux: So that's what that noise was.

Aradia: Yeah, sorry. Did I wake you up?

Sollux: No, I was already awake. I couldn't sleep either.

Aradia: Did you have a bad dream too?

Sollux: No, just had a lot on my mind.

Aradia: Oh. Well thanks for listening. You must think I'm crazy.

Sollux: I've heard worse.

Aradia: Is that possible?

He laughs, making me feel a little better.

Aradia: Maybe we should get some sleep. We don't need to arrive at the capitol half-asleep.

Sollux: Good idea. Good night.

He smiles and absconds to his room. I sit there and think for a little while, then head back to bed and hope for no more dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

I really don't know how I get into these situations. I arrive, get whisked away by a bunch of capitol idiots who wash me hard enough to take off a layer of skin, pick me clear off all body hair and leave.

My name is Dave Strider, and I am standing butt naked in a room with nobody else around.

They wouldn't even let me wear my shades. There they are, sitting on a table next to a robe I would kill to be wearing right now. I can only hope the other tributes are in a similar situation, and just as embarrassed.

A young woman comes in and starts looking me over. I cover myself, and she laughs. Her laugh is pleasant. She's wearing a blue short dress that's torn at the bottom. She has white rimmed glasses and red high heels, with white stockings that come up to her knees. Her skin isn't any odd color like most of the people here. In fact, she's pretty normal.

Aranea: Nice to meet you, Dave. I'm Aranea, I'll be your stylist. Now calm down and let me look you over.

I slowly uncover myself and she walks a circle around me looking me over. I'm turning red.

Aranea: You can put your robe back on now.

I rush over and throw my robe over my shoulders, suddenly feeling much more relaxed. We sit down and I put on my shades.

Aranea: Nice shades.

Dave: Thanks.

Aranea: Do you wear those all the time?

Dave: Yeah.

Aranea: I see.

Dave: I won't take off the shades.

Aranea: I caught that. You can keep the shades.

Dave: Awesome.

Aranea: Lucky for you, your district is all about clothing. We have something special planned.

Dave: Oh?

Aranea: I think you're going to like it.

Dave: That's a bit ominous.

Aranea: That's what I'm aiming for.

Dave: Fantastic.

Aranea: Hungry?

Dave: Duh.

She presses a button and a table of food comes up from the floor. I'd probably think about it more if I weren't so hungry. I wolf down half the meal in 60 seconds.

Aranea: You act like you've never eaten before!

Dave: I'm just hungry, don't judge.

Aranea: Hehe, don't worry, I'm not judging. Why don't I go get the outfit? You can either stay here or go talk to Rose, your choice.

Dave: I might go see Rose for a little while.

Aranea: Great! Come with me.

We leave the room and walk to the other end of the building. We enter a room that looks almost exactly the same as the one I was just in. Rose looks up and freaks out, and I realize her stylist is still looking her over. I look down, blushing. She throws on her robe. Both the stylists are laughing.

Dave: Uhh... s-sorry, Rose...

Rose: Thanks for warning me ahead of time! God!

Dave: I said sorry!

Aranea: We're going to go compare notes. You two can chill here and... work things out.

She's still laughing as she leaves. Rose and I sit down across from each other.

Dave: So... how's it going?

Rose: Just peachy.

She's still blushing.

Dave: Again, sorry about that.

Rose: It's fine. Let's just... not talk about it.

Dave: Sure, no problem. So... did he tell you anything about what we're wearing?

Rose: Nothing specific.

Dave: Me neither. Can't wait to see what they made.

Rose: Right?

We sit there awkwardly for a few minutes. Rose gets up and grabs her cup of coffee from the table and sips it.

Dave: So...

Rose: So...

Dave: Talked to any of the other tributes yet?

Rose: I haven't even seen any of the other tributes.

Dave: Yeah...

Another awkward silence ensues.

Dave: I don't really know what to say.

Rose: Neither do I.

Dave: Look, I'm going to avoid you in the ring, alright?

Rose: Is that supposed to make me feel safe?

Dave: Well yeah.

Rose: I'm capable of defending myself.

I know, I think to myself. I saw her at school once. She kicked a guy's ass once after he muttered a sexist comment. I've avoided her since.

Rose: I'll avoid you too. Sound good?

Dave: So it's a truce then?

Rose: I think there's always a sort of unspoken truce between District pairings.

Dave: I guess. Unless they're psychopaths.

Rose: We seem to have a couple of those this year.

Dave: I noticed.

Rose: The guy from District 1 is a bit freaky.

Dave: You thought so too?

Sure, we both watched the reapings together, but we didn't talk. Just sort of sat there and watched.

Rose: I'm hoping someone else will take care of him.

Dave: A guy like that? He was smiling the whole time! I think he _enjoys_ killing. I mean, sure, the clown guy from District 2 was smiling too, but I don't think he understood what was going on.

Rose: I wouldn't underestimate him. He gave me an odd feeling.

We sit for a little longer, and the stylists come back fairly happy with themselves holding a couple black bags with large number eights on them. Aranea takes me out and brings me back to our room.

Dave: So what am I wearing?

Aranea: This.

She takes out a sleek black suit with a red belt and tie and my disc symbol on the upper left side.

Dave: That's it?

Aranea: Just put it on.

I slip into the suit. It's a tight fit, but very comfortable. She takes me over to the mirror. I don't mean to brag, but I look pretty good. It's still very plain compared to what I've seen our District wear before. And heavy. It's very heavy for a suit.

Dave: So what's up with this? Are we trying to make a statement by being simple?

Aranea: Not necessarily.

Dave: You're not going to tell me, are you?

Aranea: Nope!

Dave: Great.

The sun is setting outside.

Aranea: Oh boy! Almost time for the opening ceremony!

She leads me down to the stables, where I once again meet up with Rose. She's wearing a very similar outfit to mine. She's got a sleek black dress, also with a red belt, but instead of my disc symbol she has a purple squid-like symbol on the upper left of her dress.

(Whispering is in parentheses)

Dave: (Not what you expected?)

Rose: (This dress is heavy.)

Dave: (So is my suit.)

We climb on the back of our chariot. We're being pulled by two very bright brown horses. The chariot is the same shade of black as our outfits.

Dave: Aranea, I'm not sure if I totally agree with your choice of... style this year. No one can even see us!

Aranea: Just trust me. That's what we're aiming for.

Rose: Do you want us to get sponsored, or do you want us to get killed?

Aranea: Will you just trust me? This is going to be fantastic! Now here's what you need to do. Somewhere around the middle of your ride, when _all eyes are off of you_, yank off your belts.

Dave: But my pants will fall down.

Aranea: Yes.

Dave: You want me to ride through town in my boxers?

Aranea: You wanted to know what's up with the outfit. There's a reason it's heavy.

Rose: Oh, I think I get it now.

She and Aranea smile at each other. I'm still confused as fuck. Whatever, I think to myself, if Rose knows what she's doing I'll go along with it. The TV in our stable flickers on and shows the opening ceremony start.

District 1's chariot is yin-yang the themed. It's basically split in half, with the right side all black and the left side all white. Standing on the right is the girl, Calliope, dressed in a long white silky dress with a white tiara and on the left her brother Calliope is dressed in a dark black cape covering most of him that spikes up in the back. The crowd goes wild when they see them.

District 2 is a very dark and spooky sort of theme. Kanaya is dressed to look like a vampire, surprisingly wearing the same red dress she was wearing at the reapings, with only a couple tweaks made to it. I notice a jade green M-like symbol on her black belt. They embraced the idea of Gamzee looking like a clown. That, or he refused to take off the make-up. Either way, he's dressed in a red floor length jacket with a black shirt and pants underneath, both littered with purple polka-dots. On his back is a large N-like symbol. The crowd loves it. They always love the careers.

District 3 looks robotic. Vriska is dressed to look entirely like a robot, matching her arm. On her belt is another blue M-like symbol, only a little different from Kanaya's. Equius is wearing a very tight muscle-shirt that is clearly meant to show people his strength. He's wearing a mechanic's hat and is covered in oil stains. On both his hat and his shirt are blue arrow symbols. The whole set-up makes the crowd cheer and laugh at the same time, and Vriska eats it up.

District 4 went for a very interesting look this year. The tributes are dressed like royalty. Eridan is wearing a long purple cape that matches the purple in his hair. His glasses look the same but were tinted blue, matching the blue scarf he was wearing. He's wearing a black suit with a purple design across the chest similar to waves. He's covered in various gold accessories. Feferi is wearing a golden crown with a purple symbol similar to two parentheses ) ( on the front. Her shirt is blue with a golden fish net strung across it like a sash. Her skirt is blue and green with purple borders. The crowd adores them. That marks the end of the careers.

District 5 is very... unique. Sollux is dressed in a mustard-yellow suit with a bright red tie and blue belt. One lens of his glasses is red, the other blue. An odd symbol, looking like an I with two stalks, is cut in half by the suit. It's half red and blue again, opposite his glasses. Aradia is wearing a long red dress with a yellow lightning bolt crossing it diagonally. Her hair is streaked with yellow highlights, which are probably fake but look really cool. Her belt is black and has a white symbol that sort of looks like deer antlers on it.

District 6 took a new turn this year. With transportation, they normally do things like trains, but this time they turned to the sky. Their chariot looked like it was covered in real clouds, and a smoke machine somewhere in it was releasing white puffs of smoke behing them. John was wearing all blue with an odd green slime-like symbol on it. His hood was the main attraction-he had it up, and it stretched back at least 6 feet. People loved it. Jane was dressed in all white, kind of resembling a cloud. She also has a hood, but hers is down. The bottom of her dress and her hood swirl out behind her and blow in the wind. They got lucky it's a windy night. The crowd loved it.

District 7 got my attention. They had Terezi go up there with her cane. They did nothing different with it. It was still white with the top resembling a dragon's head and totally sticks out. I guess they wanted to make sure everyone knew she was blind. She was dressed in a teal dress with a necklace that appeared to be made of actual leaves. Her dress had two red belts, one which went around normally and one above it that made a type of arch. The red matches her glasses, which she's still wearing. I respect that. Karkat was dressed in a brown outfit strongly resembling tree bark and covered in burn marks. He had a cape that looked as if it were made of leaves. In burn marks across his chest was a symbol that was similar to a sideways 69. He was holding Terezi's hand. The crowd was both in love with their outfits and full of sympathy for Terezi.

And then we were off. We pulled out onto the street and the crowd sounded confused. I looked up at the screen. We didn't look very impressive at all. I sure hope Aranea knows what she's getting us into. The crowd was losing their mojo. If it hadn't been for the next District they would've gotten bored. I watched them on the various TVs, still waving and smiling at the crowd.

District 9 had a golden brown chariot, with horses to match. Dirk was in an orange suit the same shade as his hat from the reaping. He wasn't wearing a tie. Instead there was a symbol of his hat on the white shirt underneath the suit. He was wearing a matching white belt. That was it. Surprisingly under whelming. Roxy was wearing a white sleeveless shirt with her right shoulder spiked and a white skirt that angled lower on the right side. Both were buttoned all the way down, broken by a black belt. Under the outfit was a long sleeve black shirt and long black pants. On her left shoulder was a pink symbol of a cat's head. Although their outfits weren't very extravagant, they were very good looking, and I think that's the main reason everyone loved them. The crowd went nuts when they came out.

District 10 was a huge shock. Even I lost my cool for a moment. Tavros was standing. He. Was. _Standing_. The crowd fell silent for a moment. He was wearing a black jacket spotted like a cow, with a brown shirt underneath. On that shirt was a black symbol of a circle with curved lines coming off the top. His hair was in a mohawk. He wasn't wearing pants. Instead there was a pair of robotic legs. All eyes were on him. He was smiling the biggest smile possible, waving at the crowd even though they weren't making any noise. Nepeta was in a tight olive green shirt with a matching skirt, and an odd black design that looked like a circle with a string coming out of it. The sleeves of her shirt faded to black as they reached her wrists. On her hands were a pair of fake claws. On her face were what looked like actual whiskers, and on her head was a pair of green cat-ears. She even had a green tail attached to her skirt. Not many people were looking at her, though. They were still staring at Tavros. Once the idea that he was standing sunk in, they. Went. Absolutely. Nuts.

District 11 had to wait a little longer for the crowd to calm down before they left. Jade was in a dress covered in apple blossoms, but they were all black and littered with what looked like little green stars. It trailed behind them a little bit. She also had on a matching green headband and black bracelets with blue uranium symbols on them. Jake was dressed in a similar green jacket that also trailed behind them. It was bordered with a rainbow striped pattern. Underneath he was wearing a darker green shirt and matching pants, with golden shoes and a golden skull design on his shirt. He had a golden belt with a green skull on it, too.

We paraded down the streets of the capitol, with the crowd never diminishing in numbers. When we were about halfway through, Rose leaned over to me.

Rose: Everyone's drooling over Tavros. No one's looking at us. Now's the time.

Dave: You think so?

Rose: Better now then never.

Dave: Alright...

We reach down, and at the count of three yank our belts off. Suddenly I can't see. I think my shirt has exploded. Maybe my pants, too. I'm very confused. I hear the crowd let out a collective gasp. When the smoke clears, the crowd goes absolutely fucking crazy. I look up at the TV and gasp myself. My old outfit is gone. It's been replaced by a sleek red suit with spiked shoulders and a picture of a gear on the chest in a lighter shade of red. My pants are also red, striped with alternate shades. I've also got on a cape in the darkest shade of red with a hood, but the hood is down. The cape trails behind us. I stick out behind the black chariot. Rose is wearing a light orange dress that opens on the side by her legs, revealing pants that are the same of shade of orange. On her shirt is a yellow picture of a sun and a yellow design that vaguely resembles a belt. She's got a darker orange hood that's also down. The crowd loves us. I smile at Rose, and she smiles back.

Don't do anything stupid, I tell myself. Don't do anything too risky.

Too late.

I put my arm around Rose's shoulder. She jumps at first, but catches on and puts her arm around my waist. The crowd is eating it up.

The chariots all make their way around the city circle and come to a stop. The crowd falls silent. President Snow comes out on a balcony and gives his basic speech. Blah blah blah, good luck, blah blah blah, you're all going to die, blah blah blah. I do my best to stay awake. Finally the anthem plays and the chariots turn to leave, with Rose and I still holding onto each other. I look forward to getting off TV and finally getting some rest.


	4. Chapter 4

I practically slice the head off of my sparring partner. Again. I have too much energy and have been trying to get rid of most of it in the weapons area all morning. I'm hoping this afternoon I can calm down enough to actually get in some survival training.

My name is Vriska Serket and I am ready to kill someone.

Especially that Aradia girl. I've been watching her all morning. All she wants to do is help people. God, she's an idiot. You don't play these games by helping, you play by betrayal and mind tricks. And killing. Lots of killing. That Tavros kid is rubbing me the wrong way either. He hasn't done any weapons training, just going around learning about plants and stuff. He's so useless. If _my_ district partner hadn't helped him, he wouldn't even be walking. I'm mad at him, too. Equius. Helping out people like that.

I tear apart a training dummy in anger. The weapons trainer just stays out of the way, like he should. I don't want to have to hurt him. Well, I do, but that would look bad. Equius walks up behind me.

Equius: I couldn't help but notice you need some anger management.

Vriska: I couldn't help but notice that you need to shut the fuck up.

Equius: You're still mad?

Vriska: _Noooooooo_.

Equius: You can be as mad as you want, but what's done is done. I figure it's best if you move on and stop destroying all the training dummies.

Vriska: I can destroy as many training dummies as I want!

To make my point, I slice the head off of one behind me.

Equius: You remember what our mentors said. We need to get in survival training.

Vriska: I have a plan. Why don't you just leave me alone?

Equius: Because I'm trying to help.

There it is. Again with the help. Help, help, help! That's _all_ I'm hearing around here! I start to get really angry again. I swing my sword at him and he ducks.

Vriska: Why don't you just FUCK OFF?!

I storm off. I probably could've handled that better, but right now I don't care. I head over to the hunting and trapping area and plop down next to a kid making a rabbit snare. I recognize him as that kid from District 6, John.

John: Hey.

Vriska: Hey.

There was an unexpected sharpness to my voice. It surprises him for a second, but then he leaves me alone and moves on with his snare. The instructor avoids small talk after seeing my little explosion and just gets to work showing me how to catch a bird. At least this involves death. It makes me relax a little.

John: So.

Vriska: So.

John: What's up?

Vriska: Ceiling.

John: True, true.

Vriska: Why don't you show me how to make that?

John: Sure.

He helps me set up my own rabbit snare, which isn't as good as his, but he's been here a while.

John: So you don't like your District partner, huh?

Vriska: He's pissing me off.

John: Hahaha, I noticed!

Normally laughter like that would've made me want to strangle him, but I just laughed back instead. He's alright. Maybe I should consider an alliance. The buzzer rings for lunch and the tributes all finish up what they're doing and make their way to the dining hall.

I get my lunch and look around. Caliborn, Kanaya, Equius, Eridan, and Feferi are all crowded around the same table. Looks like we have our group of careers for the year. Figures Equius would be with them. He waves me over but I show him the bird. Karkat is next to Terezi, and they're joined by Calliope and Aradia. I remind myself to avoid them at all costs. Gamzee and Tavros are alone at a table, apparently enjoying themselves. Freaks. Sollux is alone. John was sitting by Jade, Jake, and Jane. Dirk, Roxy, Dave, and Rose were all sitting by Nepeta. I join John.

John: Hey.

Vriska: Hey.

John: You all know Vriska, right?

Jade: Yeah.

Jane: Sure.

Jake: She scares me a little.

I laugh. He laughs a little with me, nervously.

Vriska: I guess you saw me make that little scene, huh?

Jake: I don't think anyone missed it.

Vriska: I just lost my temper a little. I'm just going to avoid him for the rest of forever.

John laughs. I smile at him and keep eating.

Jade: So what have you guys noticed about the others?

Jane: A lot of people seem to be avoiding certain weapons.

Jake: Such as?

Jane: Both of the District 4 tributes are avoiding everything that has to do with water.

Jake: That seems stupid. We all know what they can do with that stuff.

Vriska: They aren't the brightest in the first place. If you want to know who the real competition is you need to look at the smartest tributes.

John: Oh yeah? Who are you checking out?

Vriska: Terezi.

Jade: The blind girl?!

Vriska: Oh yeah.

Jade: What makes you say that?

Vriska: She's putting on an act. Sure, she can't see, but I can tell she has other ways of getting around. Don't underestimate her.

John: Huh.

Jane: Speaking of people not to underestimate, what about Gamzee?

Jake: Ugh, yeah. He's too... calm.

Suddenly someone puts their arm around his shoulder and he jumps.

Vriska: Speak of the devil.

Gamzee: What's up, motherfuckers?

Jade: Oh, you know...

Jane: Not much...

John: The ceiling...

Jake: ...

Gamzee: Just wanted to wish you all some good luck!

Vriska: Please, luck is not on my side.

Gamzee: What about miracles?

Vriska: What about them?

Gamzee: Miracles are everywhere man!

Jake: Oh god.

Gamzee: Motherfucking miracles...

And just like that it's like he forgot what he was doing and walked away. I shudder. I hope someone else kills that guy.

Jane: Creepy.

Jade: Totally.

John: Yup.

Training after lunch went on a lot more smoothly. I went around the more survival related stations, like fire-making and camouflage. It was boring, but I managed to remember most of it. The trip back up to our floor is awkward and silent. I'm still angry with Equius. It's just a quiet dinner and we're off to bed.

In the morning I had some training for the interviews in a couple days. They went in exactly the direction I thought they would go. Sassy. I played the part well. When I stepped back into the training center, I found it oddly silent. Silent and unnerving. Then I realized why. My idiot district partner was in another fight.

Equius: Don't lie to me! I saw you with him!

Aradia: Oh course I was with him! He's my district partner!

Equius: But you liked it! You were flirting with him! Aradia, I thought we... you know... had something going on here.

Aradia: Even if we did, why would that matter now? And I was not flirting with him! Do you even know the definition of flirt?!

Equius: Of course I do!

Aradia: Sure, Equius, sure.

Equius: Please don't be like this right now.

Aradia: I'm going to be like this right now.

Vriska: Equius, knock it off.

I stroll over and place myself between them.

Vriska: I don't exactly know what's going on, or why this is such a big deal, but you are acting like a total fucking idiot.

Equius: Vriska, stay out of this.

Aradia: No, she's right.

Vriska: Just go back to whatever you were doing and leave her alone.

Equius: I thought _you_ were mad at _me_ for helping people.

Vriska: This is different.

Equius: How?

Vriska: You're keeping them from being killed in the arena. I'm just trying to get this shitty romantic slaughter fest over with.

He's sweating. He looks ready to start yelling but storms off without saying a word. Everyone's still staring.

Vriska: What? Party's over! Move on with your lives! Shoo!

They disperse. I turn to Aradia.

Aradia: Thanks.

Vriska: What was that all about?

Aradia: I was working with Sollux for a while this morning and he was getting jealous.

Vriska: Have you two met before this?

We walk over to the plant identification area.

Aradia: Yeah.

Vriska: How?

Aradia: I was trying to call Sollux and dialed a wrong number. We talked for a while and sort of became friends.

Vriska: And now you need to kill each other.

Aradia: Yeah.

Vriska: Fun. You were trying to call Sollux?

Aradia: We used to date.

Vriska: Awkward.

Aradia: Very.

Vriska: Well look. Don't take this as a sort of truce or anything like that.

Aradia: I'm not. Although I appreciate the gesture.

Vriska: You're welcome. Try not to get killed, okay?

I walk away and leave her at the plant section. The plant section bores me. I head over to knot tying and try to focus the time I have left into something actually productive. The remainder of today and the next are fairly uneventful. A lot of training, a lot of keeping a close eye on the other competitors, and a lack of Equius. Then came the day to get our scores. I'm ready to explode with anticipation in the waiting room. I have absolutely no remote clue what I was going to do. I'm glad I'm not from District 11 or anything, so I don't have to wait so long. Equius comes out with a smug look on his face and I'm ready to slap him. Then it's my turn.

I walk in as confidently as I can, but inside I'm starting to feel nauseas. With District 3, they're all still paying attention, so I don't need to do anything stupid like shot an arrow at them. Who would even consider doing that? An idiot, that's who. I stand there for a moment, and a Gamemaker nods at me. Then I start to panic. What the fuck do I doooooooo?!

I head over to the weapons rack and look at it's contents. Nothing I prefer. There's a pretty big axe that seems nice though. I try to lift it with my right arm but it's extremely heavy. It falls to the ground with a loud clang. The Gamemakers all start to laugh at me and my nerves are gone. Now I'm pissed. I use my left arm (the robot one) to pick it up and fling it at the training dummies, taking off the heads of not one, but two of them. It sticks in the wall. The Gamemakers shut up. I smirk.

Good start, I think to myself. What now? I could probably go put on some camouflage or climb something, but that would be too lame. Besides, I didn't pay much attention at those stations. Then I see it. They put a cane in here for Terezi. _As a weapon_. I laugh to myself. I can totally make that work. I grab it off the rack much to the Gamemakers' surprise. Now how does this thing work? I stroll over to a training dummy and swing it, causing it to cut the dummy clean in half. I laugh out loud. This is awesome.

Then comes my little rampage. I tear the training room to pieces. No survivors. I'm laughing the whole time. I hope the Gamemakers think I'm crazy, because really, I am. When my destructive impulses wear off I place the cane neatly back on it's rack, the only thing I didn't knock over. I thank the Gamemakers for their time. They're all staring at me wide-eyed.

I leave the room quietly laughing to myself. I hear Eridan get up, but one of the Gamemakers stops him at the door. I hear him say they have to clean up. I start to crack up as I enter the elevator. When I reach my floor I'm bombarded by my mentors and their questions, but I'm still laughing too hard to answer them. I have a sick sense of humor and I simply do not give a fuck.

Everything settles down and we sit down for dinner. Equius isn't talking, as usual.

Male Mentor: Vriska, you still haven't told us how you did.

Vriska: That would be because I have no idea how I did.

Female Mentor: What do you mean?

Vriska: Well, I'm still trying to work out whether or not the Gamemakers are made at me.

Female Mentor: Why would they be mad at you?!

Vriska: Let's just say there was a delay before Eridan was allowed to go in.

The table stared at me. I couldn't help it. I started laughing again.

Equius: You are insane.

Vriska: Yes, yes I am.

Male Mentor: I think that's good news.

Female Mentor: Fingers crossed.

After dinner we move over to the TV to watch the scores. It started off with a shocker. Caliborn got a 12.

Vriska: _Holy fucking hell_.

Equius: How did he _do_ that?!

Another big shock. Calliope got a 4.

Vriska: What is up with District 1?!

Female Mentor: Careers never get such a low score like that...

Gamzee got an 11. Kanaya got a 10.

Vriska: We are all going to die.

Equius: I may have to agree with you there.

Equius got a 9.

Equius: That's it?!

Male Mentor: Don't be upset! That's still a really good score!

Equius: Not compared to them!

I got a 10. I whistle.

Equius: Oh come on!

Vriska: I guess that's just poetic justice.

Equius: You don't even know what that means!

Vriska: I don't have to. I have a higher score than you.

He buries his face in a pillow. He's sweating again. Eridan and Feferi both get 9's, which make him feel a little better. Sollux, surprisingly, got a 7. I underestimated him. Aradia got a 6. John got an 8. Figures, I saw a hammer in there. Jane got a 6. Karkat got an 8, as expected, but much to my surprise Terezi got a 5. She's really playing the whole blind thing well. I refuse to underestimate her. Not after what I did with _her_ weapon. Dave got an 8, and Rose got - surprisingly - a 9. Tavros got a 5. Just because he has robot legs doesn't mean he isn't still totally useless. Nepeta got a 7, probably for more survival than fighting reasons.

Then Jake. He got a 9. We're all out of surprised words to say by now. We all just stare at the screen. Lower Districts like 11 hardly get scores like that. Jade got a 6. The Panem symbol flashed on the screen, and it was over. We all still stare at the screen for a while.

Vriska: Well... well fuck.

Equius: We are going to lose.

Vriska: Probably.

Female Mentor: Hey! Don't be like that!

Male Mentor: You will lose if you keep that attitude!

Female Mentor: None of them will be able to get very far without sponsors! That's why you two need to be ready for the interviews!

Male Mentor: Get to sleep, both of you! You'll need to be wide-awake for your stylists tomorrow!

Great. Just what I needed. Another day with my stylist. Her name is Meenah. She reminds me too much of myself. It makes me sick just to be around her. I drag myself to my room and get in bed. I beg my brain for no nightmares. I need all the sleep I can get. For once in my life, I get lucky.


	5. Chapter 5

**I was going to do the interviews, but to be honest they were boring me. Sorry about that.**

**I know like, a lot of people are going to die this chapter, cause it's like the blood bath and stuff, but it would be awesome if you guys wanted to guess who's gonna win. I already have it all planned out but hey, if you get it right, well that would be awesome. So yeah.**

I feel ready to keel over as the platform below me starts to rise. The events of the past few days flash by... getting chosen at the reaping, the opening ceremony, getting to meet everyone while training. There are so many good people here, I don't want any of them to die. I remember the interviews, with everyone acting the best they could to get sponsors. And now it starts.

The light is absolutely blinding. A cool breeze almost blows my jacket off. My stylist was very nice, we got along well. She seemed a bit old, almost like a grandma. Reminded me of my family back home. She was nice enough to give me a necklace with a sort of windy symbol on it before I went into the ring.

I take a look around. Everyone else had been blinded too. Everyone was in a large circle around the golden cornucopia. There was snow on the ground, and it took me a moment to realize we were on top of a mountain. Aradia looked ready to pass out. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered. Then the buzzer sounds. The game has started.

My name is John Egbert and I don't know what the fuck is going on.

The tributes make a mad dash for the cornucopia, but I stay back. I quickly look around for people I know. I made a couple of alliances in the training room and I don't want to lose them so soon. I spot Vriska getting into a fight with Tavros. Karkat made a mad dash to Terezi and the two of them got out of here as fast as they could. I spot Rose. She and I got along really well when we were training. We agreed to team up. She wanted to get Jake on our team too, but we never got the chance to talk to him.

Rose is opening a large container and spilling some weird fluid everywhere. I have absolutely no clue what she's doing but I don't have time to dwell on it. I can already see blood staining the snow. I run through the mess of fighting tributes and try to make a grab for some supplies. I fling a backpack over my shoulder and grab a hammer from the pile, then see something out of the corner of my eye. It's Jake. He's rifling through a bag of supplies and Caliborn is rushing at him with a spear. I look over to Rose. She sees the same thing, but doesn't seem concerned. She yells for me to get away from the cornucopia.

I run a decent distance away and hide behind a rock. I peer over to see Rose lighting a match and throwing it on the ground. All the supplies that hasn't been claimed yet begins to start on fire. Gasoline. Rose dumped gasoline on the cornucopia.

Everyone starts to panic and run. Unfortunately, something inside the pile of supplies explodes before anyone can get very far. Quite a few people are caught in the blast. Caliborn and Jake get knocked off their feet. I fall back and hit my head on the ice. My ears are ringing so loud that I can't hear a thing. I slowly sit up and look back at Rose. She's frantically shouting at me and pointing to Jake. Caliborn is getting back up, and he is almost within stabbing distance.

Time to engage Hero Mode.

I grab my hammer and start running at him flailing it wildly. It catches him completely off guard. I bash him over the head a few times, then grab Jake's arm and practically drag him down the mountain. I take a look back to make sure Rose is following us. She starts running after us but stops suddenly with a look of horror on her face.

John: Rose! What's the matter? Come on, we need to go!

Jake: John, look...

I take a closer look. There's a harpoon through her chest. I gasp and start running up there. She starts to fall and I catch her, but it's too late. She's gone. I can feel the tears start to stream down my face. Looking up, I barely see Eridan running off with a bag filled with harpoons. I get ready to engage Murder Mode, but Jake grabs me and starts dragging me in the opposite direction. I manage to grab the small bag Rose had before we left.

I start to calm down and Jake stops dragging me. We don't really talk, just keep walking down the mountain. Eventually the snow starts dissipating and trees and plants become more frequent. Jake finds a tree that forms a sort of natural cave and we decide to make camp there. It's cold and damp, but out of view.

Jake: Are you okay?

It occurs to me that I'm still crying. I wipe the tears, smudging some dirt onto my face in the process.

John: I'm fine, I just... wasn't ready for that.

We sit there in silence for a little while.

Jake: Thanks for helping me... why did you do that?

John: Rose told me to.

Jake: I see...

I take off my backpack and start looking through its contents. Jake does the same. Together we have two sleeping bags, a bag of jerky, one full water canteen and one empty one, a small supply of rope, a few throwing knives and a small telescope. I also have my hammer. The bag I got off of Rose was really small. All it contained was a couple energy bars and a box of matches, pre-opened, obviously. There was also a bracelet with a sun symbol on it. That must've been the one item she could bring in. I sigh and put it on.

Jake: Looks like a good haul!

John: Yeah, I guess. We'll need more weapons if we want to get far. Did you make any alliances with anyone during training?

Jake: Well... Calliope and I were getting along really well. I want to help her if I get the chance.

John: I do too. She's too sweet for these games.

Jake: Yeah. Dirk was really nice to me too. We were going to team up but then the cornucopia exploded.

I manage a little laugh. I realize I haven't gotten a very good look at him before, so I look him over. He's got a pin on his shirt with a green skull on it, which is no surprise. He sure loves skulls. His hair has a neat little swoop thing going on, but other than that he actually looks a lot like me. Hell, we could be related. That's impossible of course, but it's still neat. His clothes are soaked from the snow. I look at my clothes. My hands and jacket have Rose's blood stains on them.

Jake: We should probably get some bearings as to where we are.

John: Good idea.

We pack everything up and carefully crawl out of our hiding place. It doesn't seem like anyone's around, much to our relief. The tree we were under seems to be quite tall, but the first branch is really high.

Jake: You want to boost me up, and then I'll drop the rope down?

John: Sure.

He climbs on my shoulders and grabs the first branch. Once he steadies himself he ties the rope around the branch and lowers it down to me. I'm not the greatest climber in the world, but Jake helps me up. We make our way as high as we can on the tree and Jake pulls out his telescope. He does a quick sweep.

John: Any trouble?

Jake: Not that I can see. There's a fire not far from here.

John: Who would be stupid enough to light a fire?

Jake: The careers.

He hands me the telescope, and I point it in the direction of the smoke. Caliborn, Equius, Feferi, Eridan, and Kanaya are all around a nice campfire enjoying themselves. Those sick freaks. Seeing Eridan makes my blood boil. Seeing Kanaya makes me sad... she and Rose got along so well. Kanaya was actually considering joining us. If only she knew what Eridan has done...

I take a look at the cornucopia. The whole mountaintop looks red and burnt. There are dead bodies everywhere. I can't make most of them out, but I know which one is Rose's. There's someone standing among the bodies. Aradia. She sees something in the snow and runs over to it. It's Sollux. He isn't dead yet. She cradles him for a while as they talk, and she's obviously distraught. Finally she kisses his forehead, lays him down gently in the snow and leaves. I feel ready to puke.

Jake: What just happened?

John: Sollux is dead.

Jake: Did he die just now?

John: Yeah.

I hand the telescope back to him, and he puts it back in his bag. The sky starts to get dark.

John: Should we stay up here?

Jake: Probably, unless you want to be stabbed in your sleep.

John: True, true.

We move a few branches down to one that's wide enough to support both of us. We lay our sleeping bags down next to each other. Suddenly the anthem plays and the sky shows the symbol for Panem. It's time for them to tell us who died in the bloodbath. The first face on the screen is Calliope's.

Jake: Aw damn it!

John: That sucks.

The next one is Vriska, and I just feel like crap. Then comes Sollux, no surprise. After that it skips all the way to District 8, with both Dave and Rose dead. Roxy from District 9 is also dead, but Jake seems fairly relieved to find that Dirk is okay. Tavros was slain in the bloodbath too, although I have no idea if Vriska got to him or if it was the explosion. The last one is Jade, which makes Jake really upset. They were cousins. I pat him on the shoulder.

John: You want to go to sleep?

Jake: *sigh* Yeah, yeah I do.

John: I'll take watch.

Jake: Wake me up soon, we'll take turns.

John: Sounds good.

He climbs into his sleeping bag and falls asleep almost immediately. I climb back up to the highest point I can and take another look around with the telescope. The careers fire is so obvious that I'm starting to think they _want_ people to mess with them. They're going through their spoils, which is naturally everything they need and more. Caliborn and Kanaya start to argue about something, then Kanaya gets up and leaves in a huff. She seems to be gathering fire wood. Now is probably the best time to talk to her, if she decides not to skewer me...

I climb down as quietly as possible from the tree, but Jake is out cold. I leave my boots there since they would make too much noise. I stay as low as I can and sneak over, trying to stay behind as much cover as I can. I manage to get up close. She's gotten far enough away from the rest of them that they won't hear any commotion. She's holding a chainsaw. How the hell did she get a chainsaw?

John: Psst!

She snaps to attention and looks around, chainsaw at the ready. I stay completely still and hold my breath, but it's dark enough that she can't see me. She slowly goes back to picking up sticks and I relax. I could just leave now, but then I would have accomplished nothing.

I slowly walk into plain sight.

John: Umm...

She whips around and pulls the cord on her chainsaw, and I jump back.

Kanaya: Oh, it's you. The kid from 6.

John: Yeah, that's me...

Kanaya: What do you want and why shouldn't I kill you?

John: I just... wanted to tell you about Rose...

She lowers her chainsaw and looks down.

Kanaya: She's dead, I know. We all saw it.

John: I just thought you might want to know who killed her.

Kanaya: You saw it?

John: I was right there. She had a harpoon in her chest. I think it was that boy from District 4, Eridan.

Her eyes widen. She looks shocked for a moment, then looks pissed.

Kanaya: He... he told me she died in the explosion! I wanted her to join us, but he said... THAT BASTARD!

John: You're welcome to come with me, we can get him back, strength in numbers...

Kanaya: No, I'll take care of it. You should go.

John: Alright, well... see you.

She storms off into the woods. I stand there for a moment, then head back to the tree, still being as quiet as possible. Jake is waiting for me when I get back.

Jake: Where did you go? I was getting nervous!

John: I had to go talk to someone. It's no big deal.

Jake: Good plan, go talk to someone in the middle of the night while a group of kill-happy maniacs are having a campfire not too far away.

John: ... yep!

Jake: Go to bed. I'll take the next watch.

John: Alright.

I slip into my sleeping bag and look up at the stars. I think about my family, I think about Rose, I think about my District partner Jane and about how she's doing. I don't even notice when I drift to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping and bugs making their usual bug noises. I wonder where the hell I am. The area around me is all golden and green. Lots of trees, too. There are lots of trees. Oh I remember now. Hunger Games, right. Death and destruction, one survivor, blah. I hear someone snoring next to me. Right, forgot about this doofus. I kick him in the side and he groans.

My name is Terezi Pyrope and my best friend is an idiot.

Terezi: Wake up. It's morning right?

He sits up.

Karkat: You tell me.

Terezi: I'm going with morning.

Karkat: And the award goes to the blind chick! Congratulations!

He lays back down. I stand up and kick him in the side again.

Terezi: Get up.

Karkat: Five more minutes.

Terezi: Up up up.

I kick him three more times.

Karkat: God, fine!

He stands up and rubs his eyes. I grab the stick I was using to walk with. We didn't get any supplies from the cornucopia since we left so early, but after the explosion I'm perfectly fine with it. I wipe off my sunglasses even though I don't really need to. I need to keep up an appearance for the sponsors, obviously, and after Tavros' death I'm the number one sob story. My sunglasses were the one item I brought into the ring, instead of my favorite symbol like everyone else did. Instead, Karkat brought in my symbol. That dope.

Terezi: So what's the plan of action?

I put my glasses back on.

Karkat: Do I look like I'm awake enough to think clearly?

Terezi: ...

Karkat: Right, sorry. We should probably get moving, find some fresh water and some food to eat and what-not.

Terezi: Couldn't we just melt snow?

Karkat: We could try, but I'm not sure if that would work. Obviously the game makers would have thought of that.

We start moving further down the mountain. I use the stick like a cane, but I don't need it. One thing the audience doesn't know is that instead of seeing things, I smell them. All the trees here are like a chocolate buffet for my nose, with the pine needles adding a nice dash of mint into the mix. Karkat knows that, but he also knows we need to keep the story up for the sponsors. I pretend to almost run into a tree and he moves me out of the way.

Terezi: Thanks.

Karkat: No problem.

His stomach growls and I laugh.

Terezi: Jegus, we better feed that monster before it kills us all!

Karkat: Breakfast does sound nice. What do you think we should do?

Terezi: Well there's got to be some animals in this place to catch. Maybe we could set up a couple snares.

Karkat: I think I remember how to make a rabbit one... do you think there are rabbits here?

Terezi: Sure, why not?

I catch whiff of something silver falling from the sky. We must have gotten a package from some sponsors. Unfortunately, Karkat doesn't see it. I can't just flat-out tell him it's there, that would ruin the illusion. I elbow him in the side.

Karkat: Ow! What was that for?

Terezi: Oh, nothing...

I made that sound as "Look up you idiot!" as I could, but he didn't take the hint. Luckily the little package was taking a nosedive toward his head.

Karkat: Okay, we should probably gather some sticks and leaves... and maybe we could head back to what's left cornucopiOW!

The package bounces off his head and lands in my arms. I grin to myself as he rubs his head.

Terezi: Whoa, what is this? Did someone throw it at you?

Karkat: No, it came from the sky!

He grabs it from me.

Karkat: Oh hey, it's a gift from our sponsors!

I can smell food inside it. My stomach growls. He opens the lid to find two large cooked chickens with a couple rolls on the side. My mouth is watering.

Terezi: Is that chicken?

Karkat: Oh _fuck_ yes...

We immediately sit down and start to dig in. It's absolutely delicious. We agree to save half of everything for later, but it's just so good we decide to split one more roll.

Terezi: I guess they must like us.

Karkat: (There was a message that came with it. Our mentors really want you to keep playing it up, okay?)

Terezi: (I think I can manage that.) So what do we do now?

Karkat: I guess... we try to stay alive.

Terezi: But for how long?

Karkat: I'm hoping they'll all kill each other off.

Terezi: They're going to look for us.

Karkat: I know.

We sit there for a little longer, awkwardly. Finally I stand up and keep heading down the mountain, Karkat still on my tail. The ground gets soft and mushy as we keep going, and the glorious apple scent of the grass starts to fade into a more coffee-like smell of mud. At the bottom is a huge mixture of smells, most of them terrible. I can't get a good idea of what this place looks like.

Terezi: What's it look like?

Karkat: It's a giant swamp. Fuck it smells bad.

Terezi: Tell me about it.

Karkat: God, must be worse for you, with your heightened smell and what-not.

Terezi: I might need nose-plugs... any fresh water?

Karkat: Nope. It's all muddy and fishy. There are frogs everywhere, you hear that?

It's impossible to not hear them. I could hear them from a mile away. We start to make our way through the muck. Luckily the outfits all the tributes are wearing include boots, or our feet would be soaked. At one point, my stick gets stuck in the mud and we can't get it out, so Karkat puts his arm around me and guides me through.

Terezi: Is there any dry land around?

Karkat: It's all like this. I don't think it changes at all.

Terezi: Maybe we should go back up the mountain a little.

Karkat: Maybe... I-

A branch breaks a decent distance behind us and I whip around.

Karkat: Whoa, you okay?

Terezi: Shh shh shh!

I cover his mouth. A couple moments later another branch breaks.

Terezi: Someone's nearby. They may be following us.

Karkat: Your hearing is really impressive.

Terezi: Yes, yes, I have awesome senses because I'm blind, we need to hide now!

We search frantically for a good hiding place, but none of the trees provide adequate cover. Now I can hear the footsteps, sloshing through the mud and water, getting closer.

Karkat: Come on! Maybe we can run-

Terezi: No time!

I grab him and drag us down under the water, and start covering us in mud. The smell of coffee is overwhelming, but I plug my nose and shove a ball of mud in Karkat's face. We stop moving once I'm sure we're completely covered, just in time for our visitor to arrive. Karkat isn't stupid enough to open his eyes, but I can just barely catch a whiff over the coffee. Obviously they're wearing the same outfit as us, but I think I can detect a pin... olive? It might be olive. They're standing still for whatever reason. Suddenly I come to a realization. My glasses fell off when I was covering us with mud. That means...

Yep. They found them. I catch a whiff of my amazing cherry sunglasses in their hands. They must know we're around here somewhere. They take off what seems to be a backpack and throw it on the ground right next to Karkat.

?: Hello? Terezi? I found your glasses. You can come out, I don't have any weapons on me. They're all in my bag. I'm backing away from it though, see?

She is. She's backing away from the bag with her arms up. She really doesn't seem to mean any harm...

Terezi: Um, hello...

I start to get up and wipe the mud off my face. Karkat grabs my ankle but I kick his arm away causing him to yell and wave his hand around. I grab the bag she threw and put it over my shoulder, just to be safe.

Terezi: I hope this isn't offensive, but I'm not sure who you are.

?: Well of course, silly, you're blind! I'm the girl from District 10.

Terezi: Oh, Nepeta!

Nepeta: Yep!

Terezi: I'm sorry about your District partner...

Nepeta: It is sad, but... even with his new legs, he wouldn't have gotten very far. He just wasn't a fighter.

Karkat: Well, this is just fantastic. Hello, crazy cat lady.

He's standing now, trying to pull all the mod out of his hair.

Nepeta: The way you guys hid was really impressive.

Terezi: Thanks, it was sort of last minute.

Karkat: Are we just going to stand around here chatting it up all day, or are we going to kill her already?

Nepeta: I'd rather not die, thank you...

Terezi: We are _not_ going to kill her.

Karkat: Terezi, we need to! Now's the perfect opportunity anyway! We have all her weapons!

Terezi: Can we please avoid killing until it's absolutely necessary?

Karkat: Why would she come after us if she didn't plan on killing us? She probably has a weapon contained in her jacket right now.

Nepeta: Well... I do have a weapon... but it's over here. I brought Terezi something.

She walks over to a tree and pulls something out from behind it. It's a nice sugary white rod, from what I can make out.

Nepeta: I got it before the supplies exploded. It's the same cane you had at the opening ceremony. I figured you might want it.

She walks over and hands it to me, along with my glasses. I smile.

Terezi: Thank you so much! Did you follow us this whole time just to give me this?

Nepeta: Not necessarily... it took a while for me to get on your trail.

Karkat: Ahem. Fucking excuse me!

Nepeta: Yeah?

Karkat: Why are you doing this?

Nepeta: Well, I made a promise to help Tavros out as much as I possibly could. Unfortunately he is dead. So I kind of... shifted my promise to help you guys!

Karkat: Oh, because Terezi's blind, right?

Nepeta: Yes. It's not really fair. People with disabilities shouldn't have to be in these games.

Terezi: Nepeta, just because I'm blind doesn't mean I deserve special treatment. In fact...

I walk up to her and whisper in her ear. I tell her how I can smell things to see where they are, and she starts to giggle.

Nepeta: That's really cool.

Terezi: Thanks.

Karkat: What did you just tell her?

Terezi: Nothing.

Nepeta: Hee hee, nothing I guess.

Terezi: If you're okay with it, Karkat, it would be nice to have her on our team...

Karkat: This is not a team. This is a duo. You know what that means? Two fucking people.

Terezi: That would be a yes. You want in?

Nepeta: Oh, I would love to, thank you!

She hugs me and I laugh. Karkat just facepalms and grumbles to himself.

Nepeta: I have some food in my bag, you're welcome to have some.

Terezi: Oh, we got some from sponsors too, here.

I take a roll out of the sponsor box and hand it to her, and she eats it happily.

Karkat: Great. She's got a shitload of weapons, she gets us covered in mud, she eats our food...

Terezi: Now you're just looking for a reason to complain.

Karkat: Hey, that is NOT-

A cannon shot interrupts him mid-sentence, scaring him enough to cause him to fall over. Nepeta and I both jump, and she looks in the direction it came from.

Nepeta: Who do you think that was?

Terezi: If we're lucky, it was a career.

Karkat: Do we ever get lucky?

Terezi: ... no.

Karkat: My point exactly.

Nepeta: I guess we'll find out tonight...

Terezi: Speaking of tonight, we better find a better place to stay instead of a swamp. Weren't we going back up the mountain?

Karkat: Oh yeah, right. Let's go.

Once again I use my cane to get through the swamp, even though I don't need it. Although our boots get stuck every once in a while, we manage to get out of the swamp without any major problems. As we head back up the mountain, we finally find a nice freshwater river to take a break by. Karkat and I both immerse ourselves in it completely to clean up while Nepeta fills up a canteen she had in her bag.

Karkat: If someone downstream sees all this mud, they'll know we were here.

Terezi: Good point. We should probably get moving soon.

Karkat: One second.

He takes off his shirt and rubs the remaining mud stains out. I do the same with my jacket, but this water is absolutely freezing. I climb out and lay down in the sun while Karkat finishes up.

Nepeta: Oh! I just remembered! I had this great camping spot!

Terezi: Oh, where?

Nepeta: I think it's nearby. Upstream, maybe?

Terezi: Should we go look?

Nepeta: How about I go by myself, in case there are other people there? I can be a lot sneakier on my own.

Terezi: Good idea.

Karkat: Yes, this plan screams of brilliance.

Nepeta: Give me one hour. Two hours, tops. Take care of the stuff!

She slips a knife into her jacket and starts running upstream along the river. Karkat climbs out of the water and joins me in the sun. It's not terribly warm, but our clothes should be considerably dryer when she gets back. We try to make small talk, but it dies quickly. Eventually I just take a nap.

I snap awake with the sound of another cannon shot. Looking around, it's already much later in the day. Karkat looks as surprised as I am and is scouring the area. All our stuff is packed up, he looks ready to go.

Terezi: Is Nepeta back yet?

Karkat: No. It's been longer than two hours, I was about to wake you up.

Terezi: Do... do you think that was her?

Karkat: I wouldn't rule it out. We should move, now.

Terezi: Right, I-

Equius: There! Up there!

Karkat: Fuck!

We turn downstream. The careers are climbing the mountain, murder in their eyes. They must've seen the mud in the water. Karkat and I scramble to our feet and start running, making it to a clearing when a trident sails out of the air and gets him in the side.

Terezi: Karkat!

Karkat: I'm fine, keep going!

We try to keep running but he stumbles. I prop him up on my shoulder and try to keep going, but it's no use. He can't keep going. Blood is spilling onto the grass, and although it's a delight to smell it just fills me with horror. He can't die, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I wanted him to win.

The careers follow us into the clearing. The District 4 girl, Feferi, picks up her trident and gets congratulated by her District partner for such a good throw. Four of them. There are only four of them. Maybe they have been dying. I stand up and guard Karkat, ready to skewer them all with my cane. I know I can't take them, but maybe... I don't know.

Caliborn: Hey there, little blind girl. Want to play a game?

His voice sends shivers through my spine. The other careers laugh. Caliborn nods to Eridan, and he pulls out a harpoon. He gets ready to throw, and I brace for impact.

Then I hear a chainsaw.

Someone comes bursting out from the trees behind me and starts rushing at the careers. As she runs past me a get a good sniff... short black hair, green lipstick, jade green symbol... it's the girl from 2, Kanaya. She is not happy. She reaches the careers before they have time to react. A second later there's a scream and blood everywhere. She cut Eridan in half. The cannon shot rings in my ears. I take the opportunity to get more distance between them and Karkat as Kanaya distracts them. I lean over him and feel the wound in his side.

Karkat: Terezi, ow! Stop...

Terezi: Oh god, Karkat. Don't worry! We'll get you help, I promise!

Karkat: Don't worry about me, I'm as good as dead. You need to go. Find Nepeta, if she isn't dead.

Terezi: This injury really isn't that bad, you can make it! Don't give up on me!

Karkat: Terezi, get out of here!

Terezi: No, god dammit! I am not going to-

Then, out of nowhere, there's a sharp pain in my stomach.


End file.
